life or something like it

mayful

June 6, 2018

It was an eventful and artful May which began with a mini linocut session with some friends. It’s always lovely to have several hours set apart to make art together… and friends who put together such a tasty spread for a mid-print break.

my blue dragon sea slug

This year I had the opportunity again to work with YoungLives during their weekend retreat. Last year was a painting workshop with the mums. This year, it was a very colourful mum and kids event. We did finger painting, a large collaborative floor painting and also a mum and kid piece. I’m quite liking how the Crayola Washable Kids’ Neon paint turned out. I usually stick with the classic colours but this was what was in stock at the store and I needed several packs.

the retreat location was in the same colour palette ; )

LUSH Live Central took place May 12-13 and showcased organizations addressing animal protection, human rights, and environmental conservation in Hong Kong. As part of Eco Marine, we focused on personal actions and highlighted various #1person1site projects. We brought to PMQ the #natureunnaturepile series for the ocean trash installation. On Sunday, we also led an ocean plastic upcycling art session which turned out whimsical and unique pieces of work by all who took part.

I can…

Ecomarine @ LUSH Live Central

jellyfish

Ocean plastic workshop

#naturepile

#unnaturepile

family collab

spoon creature

red light, green light

booth next door—no to shark fin

abstract

At the Affordable Art Fair, it was so lovely to see work from three of the artists that have been interviewed over at the Bizzie Bee blog—Kathy Lam, Gail Deayton and Sue Perks.
It was a delight to discover Gaspard Mitz‘s Box Stories as well.

Gail Deayton

Kathy Lam

Sue Perks

A few favourites—Tracy Emin

and Gaspard Mitz

The Independent Schools Foundation Academy hosted an art workshop with their artist in residence Jennifer Mercede. It was so great to connect with other art educators from Hong Kong and China and have a morning for creative exploration and art making. A big thank you to Julie Emery, Head of Primary Art at ISF for organizing such a wonderful experience for us all.

Lizzie Bee Foundation led an event for Marriott’s service week. We were able to share with their staff about asylum seekers in Hong Kong and what that means for these mums with newborns and babies here. We taught the staff how to sew baskets to hold needed items that will be given to these families.

life is the heart of a rainbow

September 6, 2017

I made it back to Singapore in time to catch Yayoi Kusama’s show at the National Gallery Singapore! Earlier in the year, I was taking In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting from MoMA x Coursera (an excellent course if you’re looking for something to learn). Kusama was the last artist we studied and I happened to be in Singapore when doing some additional research and read about her show Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors at the Hirshhorn which I couldn’t get to in time : ( and the upcoming one in Singapore which was more feasible. I’ve come across her work here and there but have never had the opportunity to see such a large body of work together so was really looking forward to this.

infinity nets, 1952

The above red painting—Infinity Nets is one of my favourites from Life is the Heart of a Rainbow and was made with gouache, pastel and ink on paper in 1952. The exhibition room that held her black and white pieces from floor to ceiling was also quite stunning. There’s so much to see and discover in each piece of work.

A series of golden yellow oranges from the show…

dots obsession, 2017

pumpkin (twaqn), 2015

the spirits of the pumpkins descended into the heavens, 2017

and more dots and reflections.

invisible life, 2017

with all my love for the tulips, i pray forever, 2013-17

infinity mirrored room—gleaming lights of the soul, 2008

The Hirshhorn has organized a North American tour and dates are:

Seattle Art Museum, June 30–Sept 10, 2017
The Broad, Los Angeles, Oct 21, 2017–Jan 1, 2018
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, March 3–May 27, 2018
Cleveland Museum of Art, July 9–Sept 30, 2018
High Museum of Art, Atlanta Nov 18, 2018–Feb 17, 2019

The Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo is opening October 1, 2017. Tickets for the first two months are sold out already but December tickets will be available October 1.

Hope you can catch her work somewhere around the world.

art, place-making and resilient cities

March 25, 2017

Last weekend, Hong Kong Baptist University hosted a two day conference titled Art, Place-Making and Resilient Cities. The main themes covered were:

Social Justice and Place-Making Through Art

Art as Urban Metaphor

Resilience: Art as Sustainable Change

Art and Its Publics—What makes a Successful
Public Place?

Thiago Mundano . Anson Mak . John Aiken . Parisa Tehranizadeh .Wang Da Wei . Mary Jane Jacob. Peter Robinson . Jay Pather

The keynoters and panel speakers covered a lot ground. Conversations need to continue in guiding people towards embracing and understanding the necessity and power of the arts in our communities in whatever form they hold.

Anson Mak

John Aiken

Apart from the confirmation that public/art/space/place/practice can never be fully defined or agreed upon ; ), some highlights, realizations, inspiration…

From the Factories—a website documenting the stories of artists and creatives utilizing space in the Kwun Tong factories and how things continue to be at odds with the revitalization policies of the government. This was especially interesting as I went on a walking tour last year organized by Hulu Culture to learn more about Kwun Tong’s history.
I should read a lot more John Dewey
Infecting the City, Cape Town, South Africa
Pimp my Carroça‘s movement and spread across the globe
Le Corbusier’s Chandigarh—see the sewer cover above? It’s a map of Chandigarh! Merging obsessions…how am I only coming across this now?

300 years

February 21, 2017

This exhibit closes next week so catch it if you can. Fascinating history of Hakka kung fu and its movement from China down to Hong kong. There are holograms, 3D clips, interactive games, short docs, maps and more.

unicorn dance!

pose matching game, Tobias Gremmler

300 Years of Hakka Kung Fu
on until 28 February 2017, 10am – 7pm, closed Mondays
CityU Gallery, 18/F, Lau Ming Wai Academic Building (AC3)
City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong

Take the Kowloon Tong MTR exit C to Festival Walk and there’s a bridge to the campus from the mall. Here’s a map if you prefer not to wander around the uni.

travelling moon

January 16, 2017

Over the holidays, one of my pieces from the year of paynes grey series was fortunate enough to travel across the pacific.

Always a delight to see my work in its new home.

Thank you for the love! x

pyramiden revisited

January 12, 2017

So strange to see this place again in National Geographic’s Short Film Showcase a year and a half later…

You can also look back at some of the Pyramiden entries from my fellow Arctic explorers and see if you can find a picture of Sasha who’s in the film. We were lucky enough to have him share his stories with us as well the two days we were anchored.

Some of my favourite photos travelling back in time there.

goodbye eider ducks, goodbye 2016

January 1, 2017

We’ve come to the close of 2016 and the last of the calendar postcards for Students on Ice. Hope you have someone in mind who’ll love receiving some ducks in the mail and go get your new year post sent out this week! : )

I was so enamoured by the green of their eggs.

We had to go back after our Spitsbergen sailing to visit the ducklings.

Ducklings in action…

I still have postcards left so if you’d like a set or two, pm me wherever that’s possible with your address and I’ll send that along to you.

Have a beautiful start to 2017.
—s

looking down in 2016

December 31, 2016

A few favourites from 2016. The other fifty-seven from this year can be found here.

this week in art

December 30, 2016

Some interesting and free art to check out in Hong Kong these next few weeks:

University Museum and Art Gallery, HKU

Went to see Pictures of the Past: Hungarian Photographer Dezső Bozóky in Hong Kong (on until 08.01.17) which was a fascinating but small exhibit and discovered the Kinsey collection. It was excellent and included some amazing historical pieces. Stories abound through those and the art. Rising Above closes 26.02.17

M+ Pavilion, West Kowloon Cultural District

Currently on show is Shifting Objectives (05.02.17)

There’s a lot of construction going on around there but don’t let that deter you…we spent quite some time watching the cranes do their thing. So many cranes!

The show is really well curated from their collection with just enough information accompanying the objects to read. Also, pick up the booklet on design and its purpose using examples from the show.

original emojis, 1999 and 2002

had to do a double take…the only thing you can touch in the show ; )

the outside was pretty cool too ; )

cranes a going

nice and shiny

naturepiles

October 27, 2016

There’s been naturepile work happening on Lantau, Hong Kong created by Shekou International School sixth graders on their Week Without Walls trip.

It’s been exciting for me to follow along on their adventures and creations. Have a look here: @morganstudentart and also check out #naturepile. Tag yours as well if you fancy joining in on the fun :).

Lately in the arthouse…